Caladesi Island State Park in Florida is home to armadillos, gopher tortoises, and hundreds of species of birds nesting among the sunflower-flecked dunes.

(Jian Huang)

We won't recommend swimming at Big Bay Beach in Wisconsin—even on a hot day Lake Superior is cold enough to freeze your @#*&%! off. But the sandstone cliffs and pristine woods enveloping this 1.5-mile pocket of beach make for a lovely hideaway.

Chatham is on the elbow of Cape Cod, which means that just about every beach view is drop-dead gorgeous—if you can see around all the people. Cow Yard is one rare spot where you'll be able to ditch those crowds.

(Amy Lundeen)

Cow Yard Landing is also one of the better places on the Cape to launch a kayak, if that's the kind of thing that floats your boat.

(Amy Lundeen)

Tucked behind the Barnegat Lighthouse, you'd never know that High Bar Harbor, a lollipop-shaped stretch of sand, is on Long Beach Island, one of the most popular Jersey shores.

(Stephanie Adams)

High Bar Harbor is the perfect place to take a stroll, but watch the water—when the tide comes in, you'll likely be stranded.

(Stephanie Adams)

At the tip of Long Island's North Fork, Orient Beach in New York is well-known to locals but few others.

(Scott Levine)

After just a stroll down Orient's pebbly beach, you'll be alone with views of the Long Beach Bar Lighthouse, Shelter Island, and awesome sunsets.

Recent Features

From Cape Cod to the Great Lakes, from Southern California to the Gulf of Mexico, America’s beaches stay open long after the summer crowds have gone home. It’s the same sun and surf—oh, except that you've got some elbow room and hotel rates have come back down to earth!